NFL Ratingshttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/7117/all
enGiants-Pats Set TV Ratings Recordhttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/giants-pats-set-tv-ratings-record-138092
Anthony Crupi<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/super-bowl-xlvi-hed-2012.jpg"> <p>
The NFL season that almost didn&rsquo;t happen ended on a suitably triumphant note, as the instant classic rematch of the New York Giants and New England Patriots broke the all-time ratings record.</p>
<p>
According to Nielsen, NBC&rsquo;s coverage of Super Bowl XLVI attracted 111.3 million total viewers Sunday night, squeaking past last year&rsquo;s record turnout by 0.3 percent.</p>
<p>
The Giants&rsquo; 21-17 victory marked the seventh consecutive year of ratings growth for the Super Bowl, which first broke the 100 million viewer mark two years ago. (The Saints-Colts broadcast delivered 106.5 million viewers on Feb. 7, 2010.)</p>
<p>
In keeping with the game&rsquo;s nail-biting intensity, deliveries increased as the night progressed. The opening kickoff was seen by some 99.2 million viewers while about 114 million people watched Madonna perform at halftime.</p>
<p>
Viewership peaked (117.7 million) between 9:30 p.m. and 9:58 p.m. EST, a period that featured Giants&rsquo; running back Ahmad Bradshaw scoring what was to be the winning touchdown and Pats&rsquo; QB Tom Brady throwing up a last-ditch &quot;Fail Mary&quot; that fell harmlessly to the turf.</p>
<p>
Although Patriots fans would have you believe otherwise, Super Bowl XLVI proved to be a perfect capper to a season that once looked as if it might never come to fruition. After a four-month lockout, the NFL and the Players Association came to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement that guarantees 10 years of labor peace and preserved the 2011-12 campaign.</p>
<p>
In leading the Giants to their second Super Bowl title in five years, <a href="http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d826ad44a/SB-XLVI-MVP-Eli-Manning-highlights?module=HP11_cp" target="_blank">Eli Manning</a> helped draw a whopping 40.5 rating in the all-important 18-49 demo, the best since the Steelers and Cowboys scared up a 41.2 in Super Bowl XXX on Jan. 28, 1996. That broadcast averaged 94.1 million viewers, a high-water mark that stood a dozen years. (It&rsquo;s worth noting that the first Giants-Pats title battle smashed the earlier record, drawing 97.4 million viewers to Fox on Feb. 3, 2008.)</p>
<p>
So assured is the NFL&rsquo;s grip on the culture that the last three Super Bowls have left the long-standing record set by the series finale of <em>M*A*S*H</em> in the dust. Hawkeye, Hot Lips and the rest of the 4077th choppered out of Korea in front of 106 million viewers on Feb. 28, 1983.</p>
<p>
At the time <em>M*A*S*H*</em> set the ratings record, there were just over 83 million TV households in the U.S. Today, there are an estimated 114.7 million TV homes, which marks an increase of 38 percent over the last 30 years.</p>
<p>
In Boston, the Super Bowl notched the highest rating for an NFL game in the DMA (56.7/81 share). The New York market registered a 49.7 rating/74 share, the second highest overnight for an NFL game in that market, trailing only the 53.4/72 for Super Bowl XXI (Giants-Denver, Jan. 25, 1987).</p>
<p>
To the relief of the folks at 30 Rock, NBC delivered tremendous numbers with its lead-out broadcast. The Season 2 premiere of <em>The Voice</em> averaged 37.6 million viewers and a 16.3 rating in the demo, making it the highest rated entertainment program among the 18-49 set since ABC notched a 16.5 with the episode of <em>Grey&rsquo;s Anatomy </em>that followed Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5, 2006.</p>
<p>
<em>The Voice</em> improved on Fox&rsquo;s year-ago post-Super Bowl <em>Glee</em> broadcast by 47 percent (16.3 vs. 11.1).</p>
<p>
Sponsors shelled out an average <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/auto-dollars-drive-nbc-super-bowl-sellout-137308" target="_blank">$3.5 million per 30 seconds of airtime</a>, making Super Bowl&nbsp;XLVI the priciest TV buy in history. As is customary during America&rsquo;s great secular holiday, those commercial messages represented a big part of the fun. According to Networked Insights, the ads accounted for 42 percent of all the social media conversation that took place during the game.</p>
<p>
While adland continues to chew over the <a href="http://www.adweek.com/super-bowl" target="_blank">Super Bowl spots</a>, the old strategy of tossing a dog into the creative mix continued to bear fruit. According to the integrated marketing firm McKee Wallwork Cleveland, four of the top five most popular commercials featured a canine star: Volkswagen&rsquo;s &ldquo;Dog Strikes Back,&rdquo; Doritos&rsquo; &ldquo;Man&rsquo;s Best Friend,&rdquo;&nbsp;Bud Light&rsquo;s &ldquo;Rescue Dog&rdquo; and <a href="http://www.adweek.com/video/2012-super-bowl-ads/skechers-mr-quiggly-2012-super-bowl-138032" target="_blank">Skechers&rsquo; &ldquo;Mr. Quiggly.&rdquo;</a></p>
TelevisionAhmad BradshawBroadcast RatingsEli ManningM*A*S*HNetworksNew England PatriotsNew York GiantsNFL RatingsNielsenRatingsSportsSuper Bowl XLVITom BradyMon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:30 +0000138092 at http://www.adweek.comNFL Posts Smash-Mouth Broadcast Ratingshttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-posts-smash-mouth-broadcast-ratings-137365
<p>
The National Football League enjoyed another robust broadcasting season, as ratings for the NBC, Fox and CBS packages were consistent with the stellar 2010 campaign.</p>
<p>
Per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, NBC&rsquo;s <em>Sunday Night Football</em> put up the biggest deliveries of the season, averaging 21.5 million total viewers, off a tick (-1 percent) from the year-ago 21.8 million.&nbsp;In the money demo, NBC&rsquo;s prime-time pigskin package drew 10.8 million adults 18-49, marking a slight deviation from the previous season.&nbsp;As has been the case in the last several years, women made up a third of the <em>Sunday Night Football </em>audience. According to Nielsen, NBC&rsquo;s slate of 18 games delivered an average 3.54 million women 18-49.</p>
<p>
Eight NBC games averaged 15 million viewers or more. The network&rsquo;s biggest draw came courtesy of its special <em>Thursday Night Football</em> season opener, a Green Bay-New Orleans shootout that served up 18.3 million viewers on Sept. 8.&nbsp;Media buyers say a 30-second spot in <em>Sunday Night Football</em> now fetches around $500,000, up nearly 24 percent from last season.</p>
<p>
Fox averaged 20.1 million total viewers with its suite of Sunday afternoon NFC games, flat versus its 2010 deliveries. The broadcaster averaged 9.33 million adults 18-49, of which 33 percent were women.&nbsp;<em>The NFL on Fox</em> enjoyed its biggest draw on Thanksgiving Day, as the Packers and Detroit Lions brawled in front of a national TV audience of 30.2 million viewers.</p>
<p>
CBS, which covers the smaller-market teams of the AFC, averaged 18.4 million viewers, a dip of 2 percent from last season. Over the course of the season, CBS&rsquo; NFL coverage averaged 8.35 million adults 18-49; as was the case with NBC and Fox, exactly one-third of those viewers were female.&nbsp;With an average draw of 30.9 million turkey-stuffed citizens, the late Thanksgiving Day game on CBS (Miami at Dallas) stands as the most-watched NFL contest of the regular season.</p>
<p>
Cable was a different story. Saddled with a schedule littered with more than a few small-market stinkers&mdash;not one but two Jacksonville Jaguars games, plus a Rams-Seahawks crapfest&mdash;ESPN endured a 10 percent drop in deliveries.</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/espn-re-ups-monday-night-football-pact-through-2021-134689" target="_blank"><em>Monday Night Football</em></a> averaged 13.3 million viewers, down 1.41 million from its record-smashing 2010 season. The dollar demo sank 11 percent to 6.88 million adults 18-49.&nbsp;ESPN&rsquo;s NFL games are slightly more male-skewing than are the broadcast packages. Women 18-49 accounted for 29 percent of the demo delivery.</p>
<p>
Per media buyer estimates, the average cost of a 30-second spot on <em>MNF</em> hovers just north of $300,000.</p>
<p>
NFL Network closed out its sixth season of live-game coverage in fine form, averaging 6.19 million viewers over eight Thursday night telecasts. Despite a failure to line up a carriage deal with No. 2 cable operator <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/delay-game-time-warner-cable-nfl-network-talks-break-down-135870" target="_blank">Time Warner Cable</a>, NFL Net saw its ratings jump 9 percent from 5.71 million a year ago. The channel currently reaches 57 million households.</p>
<p>
The NFL three weeks ago <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-hammers-out-nine-year-rights-renewals-nbc-cbs-fox-137128" target="_blank">renewed its media rights contracts</a> with all three broadcast partners. On a percentage basis, NBC will pay the greatest increase, upping its fee 58 percent to some $950 million per year. CBS has committed to a 55 percent hike ($1 billion per season), and Fox will pay a 48 percent increase ($1.1 billion). &nbsp;</p>
TelevisionCableCbsEspnFoxMonday Night FootballNbcNetworksNflNFL NetworkNFL RatingsRatingsSportsSunday Night FootballFri, 06 Jan 2012 21:47:41 +0000137365 at http://www.adweek.comNFL Hammers Out Nine-Year Rights Renewals With NBC, CBS, Foxhttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-hammers-out-nine-year-rights-renewals-nbc-cbs-fox-137128
Anthony Crupi<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/tebow-nfl-2011.jpg"> <p>
The National Football League on Wednesday renewed its media rights deals with all three legacy broadcast partners, signing pacts with NBC, CBS and Fox that could add up to as much as $3.2 billion per year.</p>
<p>
Each deal runs through the end of the 2022 NFL season. The nine-year contracts guarantee an equal division of Super Bowl rights.</p>
<p>
While financial terms were not disclosed, each network is said to have agreed to an average annual fee of at least $1 billion for the rights to carry NFL games. The increases are believed to be in line with the 73 percent premium ESPN agreed to when it <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/espn-re-ups-monday-night-football-pact-through-2021-134689" target="_blank">renewed its <em>Monday Night Football</em> franchise</a> for some $1.9 billion per year.</p>
<p>
Per industry estimates, NBC will increase its annual fee from $603 million to $1.05 billion, while CBS will see its payment swell from $619.8 million per year to $1.08 billion. With a current annual rights fee of $720.3 million, Fox could pay as much as $1.15 billion per year for its NFC package.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;These agreements underscore the NFL&rsquo;s unique commitment to broadcast television that no other sport has,&rdquo; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, by way of announcing the renewals. The league&rsquo;s 32 owners on Wednesday voted to approve the contracts.</p>
<p>
As was the case when ESPN re-upped in September, the three broadcast deals have been enhanced with a number of supplemental enticements. Beginning next season, NBC will add a Thanksgiving night game, bringing its total run of regular season broadcasts to 19.</p>
<p>
In 2014, NBC will upgrade its playoffs package. Rather than a pair of wild card matchups, the Peacock will air a wild card game and a divisional playoff. Along with the upcoming Super Bowl XLVI, which will be broadcast Feb. 5 from Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, NBC has earned the rights to carry Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, Super Bowl LII (2018), and Super Bowl LV (2021).</p>
<p>
NBC also will be granted increased use of NFL footage, opening the door to a Sunday pregame show that will air on NBC Sports Network beginning in 2014.</p>
<p>
Among the perks that come with the new CBS deal are an expanded flex schedule that will allow CBS to lay claim to an undisclosed number of NFC games. In addition to Super Bowl XLVII, which is covered under the current agreement, CBS has been awarded the rights to Super Bowl L in 2016, Super Bowl LIII (2019), and Super Bowl LVI (2022).</p>
<p>
CBS&rsquo; AFC package lines up swimmingly with its local station footprint. Seven of the Tiffany Network&rsquo;s 14 O-&amp;-Os are in AFC markets, including New York (Jets), San Francisco/Oakland (Raiders), Boston (Patriots), Miami (Dolphins), Denver (Broncos), Pittsburgh (Steelers), and Baltimore (Ravens).</p>
<p>
Fox&rsquo;s new agreement gives the network the rights to NFC wild card and divisional playoff games, as well as the NFC Championship Game. Its three Super Bowls are: LI in 2017, LIV (2020), and LVII (2023).</p>
<p>
The three agreements include &ldquo;TV Everywhere&rdquo; rights, which enable the broadcasters to offer live games and NFL shoulder programming via tablets and other digital platforms. (Mobile is a separate issue, as Verizon Wireless owns the exclusive rights to live streaming via smartphone.)</p>
<p>
While the Sunday schedule is now set through the 2022 campaign, the <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-creates-new-thursday-night-package-133287" target="_blank">proposed early-season Thursday night package</a> remains unsettled. After Turner Sports, Comcast/NBCUniversal, and News Corp.&rsquo;s FX all showed interest in the eight-game slate, the league announced it would delay an auction until after it had hashed out its major TV contracts.</p>
<p>
If the price of admission may give investors pause, there&rsquo;s no question that the NFL is a must-have property. Speaking last week at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, CBS Corp. chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves sang the praises of the league, noting that &ldquo;even a bad football game outrates most programming.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
NBC&rsquo;s <em>Sunday Night Football</em> is the most watched program in prime time, averaging 20.2 million viewers and an 8.0 rating among the 18-49 demo through 12 games.</p>
TelevisionCableCbsEspnFoxMonday Night FootballNbcNetworksNFL on FoxNFL RatingsNFL RightsSportsSunday Night FootballWed, 14 Dec 2011 22:52:46 +0000137128 at http://www.adweek.comMoonves, Bewkes Talk Footballhttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/moonves-bewkes-talk-football-136966
Anthony Crupi<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/moonves-bewkes-nfl-2011.jpg"> <p>
The National Football League was top of mind during Tuesday&rsquo;s UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, as incumbent and prospective network partners alike weighed in on the value of allying with the league.</p>
<p>
Speaking during an early keynote session, CBS Corp. chairman and CEO <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/hot-list-hottest-revenue-player-136892" target="_blank">Leslie Moonves</a> said the broadcast giant hopes to be in business with the NFL for a long time to come, though he stopped short of confirming that a new deal was in the works.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;The NFL is an unbelievable property,&rdquo; Moonves said. &ldquo;You see it in the ratings. Even a bad football game outrates most programming. So, we love our relationship with the NFL.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
Warming to the subject, Moonves acknowledged that CBS will have to ante up if and when it renews its current eight-year deal, which expires in 2013.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware that when a new deal gets made the price of poker is going up&mdash;and it should go up,&rdquo; Moonves said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve delivered properties to us that have done extremely well. But there&rsquo;s one thing you have to remember: The NFL likes their partners to be strong, [and] the NFL likes their partners to make money, so we anticipate going forward that something similar will happen.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
The NFL is looking to sew up its three outstanding broadcast contracts, all of which expire at the close of the 2013 campaign. CBS currently pays $619.8 million per year for its Sunday afternoon AFC rights deal; sources say a new eight-year pact could cost as much as $1 billion per year.</p>
<p>
Fox and NBC face proportionate rate increases. Fox forks over $720.3 million per year for its Sunday NFC package while NBC invests $603 million in fees for the rights to air <em>Sunday Night Football</em>. NBC&rsquo;s prime-time colossus not only snares TV&rsquo;s biggest ratings, but it also commands&nbsp;the highest ad rates&mdash;$500,000 per :30, according to media buyers.</p>
<p>
ESPN set the tone for NFL renewals in September when it signed off on a new $15.2 billion deal ($1.9 billion/year) to retain the rights to <em>Monday Night Football</em>. Valid through 2021, the ESPN pact came loaded with 500 hours of league-branded studio shows, the rights to stream NFL programming to Verizon smartphones, and an annual rights fee increase of $800 million.</p>
<p>
While no broadcaster has signed a renewal, deals could be finalized before the end of the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>
Also strapping on a helmet Tuesday was Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes, who pump-faked his way through a question about his company&rsquo;s interest in a proposed <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-creates-new-thursday-night-package-133287" target="_blank">eight-game Thursday night package</a>.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;The NFL . . . is always looking for more outlets, and we are always open to discussions about that and we have been with them,&rdquo; Bewkes told investors Tuesday afternoon. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t think if we were to do something like that that we would do it with a plan to lose any money, so the question of whether that would fit with what the NFL wants to do and our desire to make money would be an open question.&rdquo;</p>
<!--pagebreak-->
<p>
Bewkes added that while he isn&rsquo;t ruling anything out, the pressure a mega-million NFL contract would place on Turner&rsquo;s affiliates could be a deal-breaker. &ldquo;Sports programming is probably the thing that is causing the most price increases to all of you sitting out there, and depending on who you are, you know that you don&rsquo;t watch it,&rdquo; Bewkes said. &ldquo;So that&rsquo;s a concern, pretty widespread. When we look at the whole business of subscriber payments, what people have to pay, and what the [carriers] are able and willing to pay us&hellip;we already have plenty of sports to handle what we need to do there.&quot;</p>
<p>
Bewkes said, &ldquo;We have very strong results so far on what our current sports load, including the <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/cbs-turner-expect-hoops-net-big-bucks-136722" target="_blank">NCAA [Men&rsquo;s Basketball Tournament]</a>, gives us in terms of future subscription support.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
Bewkes could very well be speaking for himself when he suggested that many cable subscribers are not avid sports enthusiasts. Asked once what he watched in his down time, the Time Warner chief ticked off a list of HBO and TNT series before allowing that he wasn&rsquo;t much of a sports fan.</p>
<p>
Much of the chatter about carriage fees as a function of sports programming began heating up on Monday when Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei characterized ESPN&rsquo;s swelling monthly rate as a &ldquo;tax on every American household.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
The networks would counter that big-time, DVR-proof sports are the last promotional vehicle on the tube and, as such, are worth every penny. With four weeks left on the NFL&rsquo;s regular season calendar, pro football already accounts for nine of the 10 most-watched programs of the fall season. In November, the top seven cable telecasts were NFL games (No. 8 was a Nascar Sprint Cup race on ESPN, while Nos. 9 and 10 were gobbled up by AMC&rsquo;s <em>The Walking Dead</em>).</p>
<p>
The NFL this summer began conducting under-the-radar talks on an early-season Thursday night package, drawing interest from Turner Sports, Fox Sports, and NBCUniversal. In the wake of ESPN&rsquo;s blockbuster renewal, the league elected to sideline the bidding process for the immediate future; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it was unlikely that a new package would be hashed out until after the end of the season.</p>
<p>
Because top executives at Turner Sports are fired up about the prospect of an NFL showcase, don&#39;t count Time Warner out. But Bewkes appears to need a little more convincing if he&#39;s to sign off on a deal that could run between $600 million and $800 million per year.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;If you look at where sports fits for TNT and TBS, it&rsquo;s a very strong part of our programming lineup, of what we offer to affiliates, of how we provide steady audiences to launch original programs and acquired series&mdash;it&rsquo;s part of the mix,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s not the dominant part of the mix.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
TelevisionCableCbsEspnFoxJeff BewkesLes MoonvesNbcNetworksNflNFL RatingsNFL RightsRatingsRoger GoodellSportsTbsTime WarnerTntTurner SportsTue, 06 Dec 2011 22:24:36 +0000136966 at http://www.adweek.comNFL, the Only Game in Townhttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-only-game-town-135951
Anthony Crupi<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/nfl-jets-dolphins-2011.jpg"> <p>
If there was ever any doubt that television is merely a delivery system for the National Football League, the ratings through Week 6 of the 2011-12 campaign should put any lingering skepticism to rest.</p>
<p>
Since NBC kicked off the season on Sept. 7, NFL broadcasts have accounted for 13 of the 15 most-watched fall TV programs. In fact, the only non-football fare to crack the list is CBS&rsquo; <em>Two and a Half Men</em>. The launch of the Charlie Sheen-free sitcom&mdash;aka <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/viewers-flock-sheen-free-two-and-half-men-134991" target="_blank"><em>Mr. Kelso Goes to Malibu&mdash;</em></a>delivered 28.7 million viewers on Sept. 19, edging Fox&rsquo;s most recent late game by some 300,000 viewers.</p>
<p>
The Oct. 16 AFC East grudge match between the New England Patriots and New York Jets was available in 95 percent of the country, although pockets along the Gulf Coast saw the New Orleans-Tampa Bay game. (Maryland was blacked out of Fox&rsquo;s late NFL broadcast.)</p>
<p>
Remarkably, eight of the highest-rated NFL games aired in a national, non-prime window. Fox claimed five of these broadcasts, while CBS hosted the other three. NBC&rsquo;s <em>Sunday Night Football </em>accounted for five of the most-watched programs of the new TV season; tops among these was the network&rsquo;s <em>Thursday Night Kickoff</em> battle between the Saints and Packers (27.2 million viewers and an 11.6 rating among adults 18-49).</p>
<p>
Through its first seven <em>SNF</em> broadcasts, NBC is averaging 22.2 million viewers and a 9.1 rating in the demo, up 5 percent versus the same period in 2010. Five games have delivered in excess of 20 million viewers and an 8.0 rating, with the outliers including a parking lot mugging&mdash;on Oct. 9, 18.9 million sadists watched the Ravens beat up the Jets by a score of 34-17&mdash;and a good old-fashioned stomping (the Bears&rsquo; 39-10 evisceration of the Vikings drew 16.6 million viewers and a 6.6 rating).</p>
<p>
Unfortunately, NBC appears to be stuck with another potential dud, as the Saints this Sunday take on the luckless (0-6) Colts in the Louisiana Superdome. Since Peyton Manning&rsquo;s season-scotching neck surgeries, the Colts are off to their worst start since 1997, ranking 28th in points per game and passing yards.</p>
<p>
Because it&rsquo;s far too early in the season to invoke the NFL flex schedule, NBC is more or less stuck with the Colts. That said, the Saints tend to put up some big deliveries&mdash;71 percent of the TV households in New Orleans tuned into the Oct. 16 Saints-Bucs game on Fox&mdash;so it&rsquo;s possible that Sunday&rsquo;s game may still notch at least a 6.7 in the demo.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
Look for NBC to bounce back on Oct. 30, when the always reliable Dallas Cowboys butt heads with their NFC East rival Philadelphia. In Dallas&rsquo; first <em>SNF</em> appearance on Sept. 11, Tony Romo and Co. bowed to a rallying Jets squad, 27-24, in a nail-biter that drew 25.8 million viewers and a 10.7 rating.</p>
<p>
Next month promises to be even more compelling, as NBC gets set to air smash-mouth meetings between the Ravens and Steelers (Nov. 6), Pats and Jets (Nov. 13) and Eagles and Giants (Nov. 20).</p>
<p>
Media buyers say a 30-second spot in <em>Sunday Night Football</em> now fetches $425,000 a pop. Under the terms of its eight-year contract with the league, NBC pays $603 million per season for the rights to carry its weekly NFL game. As is the case with fellow rights holders CBS and Fox, NBC&rsquo;s contract expires at the conclusion of the 2013 season.</p>
<!--pagebreak-->
<p>
ESPN re-upped with the NFL in September, signing an <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/espn-re-ups-monday-night-football-pact-through-2021-134689" target="_blank">eight-year, $15.5 billion deal</a> to retain its <em>Monday Night Football </em>franchise. Through the first seven games of the season, ESPN has weathered slight declines in deliveries.</p>
<p>
According to Nielsen, <em>Monday Night Football</em> is averaging 13.4 million viewers, down 6 percent from 14.3 million a year ago. ESPN is averaging 7.32 million adults 18-49, off 7 percent from 7.88 million in the first seven <em>MNF</em> telecasts of 2010.</p>
<p>
At this juncture a year ago, ESPN already had aired four installments of <em>MNF</em> that served up 15 million viewers or more. The biggest draw was its Sept. 27, 2010, Bears-Packers broadcast, which had 17.5 million viewers and 9.43 million members of the demo.</p>
<p>
ESPN has carried two blockbusters thus far in 2011. On Sept. 26, a more-shattered-than-usual Romo lifted the Cowboys over the Redskins by an 18-16 margin, in a bruiser that drew a season-high 17.1 million viewers and 9.2 million adults 18-49. Then on Oct. 10, the Lions appeared on <em>MNF</em> for the first time in a decade, beating the Bears 24-13 in front of a national television audience of 16.4 million viewers. Of these, more than half (8.87 million) were adults 18-49.</p>
<p>
Like NBC, ESPN has been saddled with a few stinkers, including Giants-Rams on Sept. 19 (11.9 million/6.19 million adults 18-49) and a penalty-studded Colts-Bucs game that probably scared off a generation of casual football fans. That drew 10.8 million viewers and 5.7 million members of the demo.</p>
<p>
Some of the more promising games on ESPN&rsquo;s slate include: Bears-Eagles (Nov. 9), Vikings-Packers (Nov. 16) and Steelers-49ers (Dec. 19).</p>
<p>
On average, <em>MNF</em> doubles the deliveries of its closest cable competition. For example, the Bears-Lions game averaged 8.87 million adults 18-49 on Oct. 10; that same week, Season 2 of AMC&rsquo;s zombie hit <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/will-zombie-success-spread-fright-nights-across-cable-landscape-135889" target="_blank"><em>The Walking Dead</em></a> premiered to 4.81 million viewers, making it the most-watched scripted series in cable history.</p>
<p>
Based on buyer estimates, a 30-second spot on <em>MNF</em> costs just over $300,000.</p>
<p>
Along with its unmatchable reach, the NFL also offers marketers a few less publicized gems. Last season, women accounted for 33 percent of the <em>Sunday Night Football </em>audience, and if a recent <em>Adweek</em>/Harris poll is anything to go by, the potential for growth in the demo is enormous. According to <a href="http://www.adweek.com/photo/data-points-tailgate-time-135308#" target="_blank">this survey</a>, 55 percent of American women say they watch televised NFL games, while another 85 percent say they consume their sports live. If nothing else, those numbers represent an almost criminally overlooked pool of engaged viewers who aren&rsquo;t going to be zapping through your advertising any time soon.</p>
<p>
The NFL also skews young, but not so young that clients are reaching Justin Bieber cultists. The median age of the <em>SNF</em> viewer in 2010 was 45.7 years, comfortably below the overall network prime-time median (50.9).</p>
TelevisionCableCbsEspnFoxMonday Night FootballNbcNetworksNflNFL RatingsRatingsSportsSunday Night FootballThu, 20 Oct 2011 10:46:40 +0000135951 at http://www.adweek.com